Obesity: Disease of the new millennium

We should take immediate action about the increasing incidence of obesity in Malaysia. Find out more at the inaugural Star Health Fair.

ACCORDING to Prof Dr Mohd Ismail Noor, president of the Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity (MASO), obesity, dubbed as “the disease of the new millennium”, constitutes the most important public health problem we face today.

Prof Dr Mohd Ismail has revealed that the epidemiology of obesity in developing societies based on population estimates of BMI is very disturbing, judging from the rapid increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity in both adult and children (both in developed and developing Asian countries) in the last two or more decades.

Prof Dr Mohd Ismail will be sharing the latest on obesity at the upcoming Health Fair organised by The Star this April.

The latest figures from WHO has revealed some 1.6 billlion adults are overweight and 400 million obese. In Malaysia, about 43% adults, some 20% adolescents and 26% of primary school children are either overweight or obese.

According to him, rapid and sustained economic growth, modernisation, urbanisation plus the globalisation of food markets, and significantly less physical activity in all sectors have fuelled the obesity epidemic.

At the total population level, a high prevalence of obesity results from a complex interaction between an inherited metabolic predisposition to fatness and changes in the population’s lifestyle, ie higher energy intake and reduced physical activity, that tend to accompany economic development.

From an individual’s perspective, obesity can result from a minor energy imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, leading to a gradual, but persistent, weight gain over a considerable period.

Prof Mohd Ismail says that based on recent findings, links between undernutrition and obesity appear to be strong, both occurring together and in the same low income households in many parts of Asia, including Malaysia. These reports have enormous significance to developing societies emerging from poverty and continuing to bear the “double burden” of both forms of malnutrition in their populations.

It has often been argued that prevention rather than treatment is the way to go in combating the rising obesity epidemic. However, it is becoming more apparent that the traditional approach appears to have failed in producing the desired effect, judging from the increasing trend in prevalence of obesity within the last decades.

Unfortunately, obesity has not been high on the public health agenda in developing countries as the prevalence, defined as BMI>30, appeared very low while governments focused on eradicating under-nutrition.

Furthermore, actions to act decisively to help combat the increasing prevalence of obesity globally and in Malaysia has been few and overall rather uncoordinated.

According to Prof Dr Mohd Ismail, unless we can make policy makers and professionals alike understand the threat obesity poses and the urgency to implement possible solutions now, the natural course would be an obesity epidemic among Malaysians that will continue to grow beyond control in the coming decades.

At the Health Fair, Prof Dr Mohd Ismail will also be sharing his views on ways to combat the obesity scourge.

The Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity (MASO) is a healthcare professional organisation established in 1994, whose members comprise mainly of Nutritionists, dieticians, clinical psychologists, endocrinologists, medical doctors and other related health professionals.

MASO strives to enhance the understanding of obesity, including causes, manifestations, prevention and management principles through various local and international collaborative studies.

Besides Prof Dr Mohd Ismails talk, there will be many other activities at the fair. The Star’s inaugural Health Fair takes a holistic approach to providing appropriate health-related information involving the different stages in life:

• Chapter 1: Early years
• Chapter 2: Middle years
• Chapter 3: Golden years

So, the early years will be appropriate for young adults, parents-to-be, and parents with infants and young children. The aim is to help create awareness on infant and childcare so that the experience will not be too “traumatic”.

There will also be activities that encourage younger adults to look after their health, such as healthy and balanced meals for a healthier life, looking after the body, and even family health and planning.

The middle years explore issues that are becoming more prevalent in modern society. So be prepared for tips on how to eat healthy and stay in shape, or how to get back into shape. There will also be a deluge of information on the modern scourges of society, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and so on.

The golden years will look at ageing issues, and how we can cope and prepare better for such eventualities.

The fair will also feature many talks and forums on a range of topics, which will include tips and advice on how to stay healthy, managing your health and lifestyle changes as you age, eating well as you get older, physical activity for older adults, handling your medications, sexuality in later life, and so on.

The inaugural Star Health Fair 2012 is organised by The Star, with Great Eastern Life as the event’s partner. It will be held in Halls 1 to 3 of the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre from April 6 to 8. It is open from 10am to 7pm and admission is free. For enquiries or to participate, call 03-79671388 (ext 1243/1529).